About Me

Gregg Walker is a Harlem Resident and 1997 graduate of Yale Law School who worked as an investment banker for 9 years and was the Vice President of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at Viacom for 3 years. Gregg served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Sony from 2009 to 2016, and he launched his own private investing firm in July 2016 (www.gawalker.co). Gregg was chosen in 2010 by Crain's as one of NYC's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars (http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/2010/gregg-walker). Gregg is a Deacon at Abyssinian Baptist Church and served as the chairman of the Board of the Harlem YMCA. He has served on the Boards of movie studio MGM and music publishing companies Sony/ATV and EMI Music Publishing. He is also a Board member of Harlem RBI and Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. He is a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a representative of the US at the 2002 Young Leaders Conference of the American Council on Germany. Gregg is also a member of many other foundations and community organizations.

Monday, April 9, 2012

NYC 911 System Debacle

New York City's 911 emergency system will be 7 years late and $1 billion over budget, and the Mayor of NYC is focused on ensuring that the public does not have the opportunity to read the report that explains what went wrong.

Mayor Bloomberg sought a third term based on an argument that he possessed superior management skills, yet his mismanagement of the city's funds is one of his clearest "accomplishments" of his 10 years. His failure to control the city's funds will create challenges for his successors and for our city's residents for many years to come.

Bloomberg, talking to reporters Tuesday, defended response times to emergencies — though the unions and City Hall have long sparred over how the times are computed.
“Obviously, things are working. Can we always do it better? Sure. We’ll look at everything, and anybody that’s got suggestions, we'll be happy to take them in,” Bloomberg said, adding that the report will come out when the time is right.
“It’s a preliminary report and we’ll put it in when we get a final report that pulls together all the relevant data.”
The system has 911 operators handle most incoming emergency calls and dispatch them electronically into the police and fire response system. Callers used to have to talk to as many as three operators. The new framework also gives the operator a digital map of where the caller is located.

In February, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered the report to be released, but the city recently made an 11th-hour appeal, charging that the document’s release would inhibit city bureaucrats from properly analyzing the system.

Bloomberg is once again opposing the judicial system as the judicial system attempts to hold him accountable.